1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to a method of fabricating a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to fabricating a device having a substantially L-shaped silicide element to form a contact to, inter alia, reduce contact resistance and increase circuit density.
2. Background Art
With the aggressive scaling of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology, it becomes increasingly challenging to keep miniaturizing the dimensions of components while avoiding the adverse effects brought on by scaling. In other words, increasing the density of structures on an integrated circuit becomes increasingly challenging due to the adverse effects. One adverse effect brought on by scaling is increased contact resistance. A contact is an electrically conductive connector between layers of an integrated circuit (IC). Increased contact resistance may be caused by decreased area between silicon and a silicide adjacent a transistor in which a contact is to be formed, or by reduced area between the silicide and the contact. The increased contact resistance and the related structural density issues may pose a challenge to further scaling.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need in the art for a solution to the problems of the related art.